PLANT CATALOG

Grape

GRAPE

Common Name: Grape

Botanical Name: Vitis spp.

Family: Vitaceae

Origin: North America

Avg. Height x Width: Slow growing vine grows to size of trellis

Varieties: Florida Frye, Granny Val, Tara, and Triumph

Season: Summer and fall

COMMENTS

The muscadine grape is native to the southeastern United States and is found in the wild from Delaware to the Gulf of Mexico, and westward to Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Many older varieties were selections from the wild, but the Georgia Agricultural Experiment Station and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture have introduced a number of improved varieties that have become standard cultivars. The four varieties listed above are all self fertile, and they fruit well throughout South Florida. 

Image: © Ian Maguire

Green Sapote

GREEN SAPOTE

Common Name: Green Sapote

Botanical Name: Pouteria viridis

Family: Sapotaceae

Origin: Guatemala, Central America

Avg. Height x Width: 20' x 20'

Varieties: Fairchild and IFAS

Season: Spring and summer

Damage Temp: 25 - 27 F

COMMENTS

The green sapote is very closely related to the mamey. The fruit have a smooth, leathery, green skin that has a slightly reddish hue when ripe. The pulp is creamy and moist, and they are typically single-seeded. The flavor can be compared to a creamy pumpkin pie, and they are most often eaten fresh or in a milkshake. 

Image: © Ian Maguire

Grumichama

GRUMICHAMA

Common Name: Grumichama

Botanical Name: Eugenia braziliensis

Family: Myrtaceae

Origin: Brazil

Normal FL size: 18' x 12'

Season: Spring, sometimes a light fall crop

Damage Temp: 28 - 30 F

COMMENTS

The grumichama is a small, compact tree that can be grown as a standard or shaped as a hedge. The plants have beautiful, glossy, dark green leaves and rough, corky, textured bark. Fruit deep purple to black when ripe and they have a flavor very similar to that of jaboticaba. They are most often eaten fresh and used in jelly.

Guava

GUAVA

Common Name: Guava

Botanical Name: Psidium guajava

Family: Myrtaceae

Origin: Tropical America

Avg. Height x Width: 15' x 15'

Season: Year round

Damage Temp: 25 - 26 F

COMMENTS

Guava is enjoyed in jelly, juice, pastries and a multitude of other recipes. The fruit can be round to pear shaped, and they are typically about the size of a baseball. The pulp is smooth, sweet and extremely aromatic. The trees are heavy producers, and will begin fruiting at just one year of age.

Image: © Ian Maguire

Jaboticaba

JABOTICABA

Common Name: Jaboticaba

Botanical Name: Myrciaria cauliflora

Family: Myrtaceae

Origin: Brazil

Avg. Height x Width: 18' x 12'

Season: Winter, spring & throughout the year

Damage Temp: 25 - 27 F

COMMENTS

The jaboticaba forms a small bushy tree that has multiple ornate stems. The fruit are grape-like, with a thick skin and melting pulp. They are eaten as fresh fruit, in jams and in wine. They can be frozen whole, to enjoy throughout the year. Because the fruit occurs on the old growth, it is best never to prune them. They are especially cold, hardy plants, and they like a lot of water. 

Image: © Ian Maguire

Jakfruit

JAKFRUIT

Common Name: Jakfruit

Botanical Name: Artocarpus heterophyllus

Family: Moraceae

Avg. Height x Width: 30' x 25'

Varieties: Mai 1, Mai 2, Black Gold, Gold Nugget, & Golden Pillow

Season: April to December, according to variety

Damage Temp: 28F

COMMENTS

Jakfruit trees are large by nature. They can be pruned annually to 12' x 12' producing as much as 200 lbs. of fruit per year. It is the largest fruit that grows on a tree. The heaviest ever recorded weighed 275 lbs., but they are typically 10-35 lbs. Cooked green, the fruit can be used as a vegetable. It can be boiled, fried, grilled, roasted, or prepared with sauces. Mature seeds are also prepared in dishes. The ripe fruit tastes like a combination of mango, banana, pineapple, and cantaloupe. It is often compared to juicy fruit gum. 

Image: © Ian Maguire

Jujube

JUJUBE

Common Name: Jujube

Botanical Name: Ziziphus jujuba

Family: Rhamnaceae

Origin: China

Avg. Height x Width: 10' x 10'

Varieties: Green Thornless

Season: December - March

Damage Temp: 25F

COMMENTS

Having the texture and flavor of an apple, the jujube are often referred to as manzana or manzanita, meaning apple or little apple in Spanish. It is an important commercial fruit crop in Thailand, Vietnam and India, and it is grown on smaller scales throughout Malaysia and Australia. The trees are bush-like, with a weeping habit, and they will bear fruit at just two to three years of age. Jujubes are known to be extremely prolific producers. 

Image: © Ian Maguire

June Plum

JUNE PLUM

Common Name: June Plum

Botanical Name: Spondias dulcis

Family: Anacardaceae

Origin: South Pacific

Avg. Height x Width: 8' x 6'

Season: Fall and winter

Damage Temp: 28F

COMMENTS

The dwarf ambarella is a fast growing plant that will produce fruit in less than one year, and at a height of only two feet. They are often eaten fresh, or made into drinks and jellies that taste something like apple butter. They have a single sharp, rather large, spiny seed. 

Image: © Ian Maguire

Longan

LONGAN

Common Name: Longan

Botanical Name: Dimocarpus longana

Family: Sapindaceae

Origin: India and southeast Asia

Avg. Height x Width: 25' x 25'

Varieties: Biew Kieuw, Dagelman, Diamond River, Kohala and Sri Chompoo

Season: Late July to September, according to variety

Damage Temp: 24 - 28 F

COMMENTS

The longan is a very close relative of the lychee. The fruit are typically the size of a quarter, and they have a brown leathery shell that contains what looks like a peeled grape with a single seed. The fruit are sweet, with a pleasant aroma, and they taste like a nutty grape.

Image: © Ian Maguire

Loquat

LOQUAT

Common Name: Loquat

Botanical Name: Eriobotrya japonica

Family: Rosaceae

Origin: China

Avg. Height x Width: 15' x 15'

Season: January to April

Damage Temp: 22F

COMMENTS

Loquats are shaped like Christmas trees, but they have large fuzzy leaves that are green on top and silver underneath. The fruit tastes like a combination of peach and apricot. They are most often eaten fresh, in jellies and in wines. The trees will begin fruiting at just one to two years of age. 

Image: © Ian Maguire

Lychee

LYCHEE

Common Name: Lychee

Botanical Name: Litchi chinensis

Family: Sapindaceae

Origin: Southeast China

Avg. Height x Width: 25' x 25'

Season: Mid May to Mid June in South Florida

Damage Temp: 24 - 28 F

COMMENTS

Lychees are one of the most renowned fruits of the world. Today they are grown on every continent except Antarctica, and they are famed as the "King of Fruits." Despite their worldwide distribution, they remain one of China's best kept secrets. They can best be described as having the flavor of passion fruit and grapes with the scent of a red rose. The fruit are highly addictive, and they can quickly become an expensive habit. 

Lychee Viewer - Click Here for details on 12 lychee cultivars

Image: © Ian Maguire